-November 20, 2007
A month after the first legislation to ban asbestos was passed by the Senate, public health officials and government regulators are speaking out against the bill that they once supported.
Public health officials were reportedly voting in support of the bill because it called for a total ban on asbestos; however, many are now discovering that the proposition was being watered down to appease lobbyists.
Minor Details Left Out of the “Ban”
According to those who once supported the ban, between the hearing in June and the vote by the senate just last month, the legislation was altered to please lobbyists and industry.
Many products containing asbestos aren't covered by the ban as originally stated.
Sen. Patty Murray says that the ban is a “step forward” even though she does think it should cover all asbestos containing-products, not just some.
“I would have a 100 percent ban,” Murray says.
EPA Writes Letter
In a letter that was prepared by the EPA for the House Committee of Energy and Commerce, the agency addressed the issue of the health public health community as a whole.
“To protect public health and the environment from asbestos hazards, the ban should target any products in which asbestos is intentionally added or knowingly present as a contaminant,” stated the letter.
However, last month, the White House Office of Management and Budget rejected the letter and told the EPA that they could not send it to the House Committee, which many government scientists believed was another example of placing politics over the importance of science.
(Source: Seattle Post)
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